Avoid worker burnout in 2021

Loide Ekandjo - With the mass transition to remote working, more people than ever before are now continually connected to work - whether it’s email notifications, work instant messaging or video calls, technology has enabled people to ‘always be on’.

Many workers have worked harder and longer than before the pandemic hit — perhaps because they have benefited from fewer distractions or have fed off the adrenaline of the crisis.

Overwork has become a symbol of status in many corporations, but it is a story of diminishing returns. Current productivity levels may become unsustainable and so the challenge is to find ways to tackle supportable performance.

The way we work is changing at an unprecedented pace. But this can make it more difficult to create and sustain the winning people's experience.

Yet the shifts can also provide the catalyst for overcoming the stresses and frustrations of the past, and developing an environment that fosters agility, wellness and innovation. Wellness programmes and the focus on well-being, both during the crisis and in the future, may assist.

Companies need to focus on their employees’ well-being in new and creative ways to help them mitigate stress and prevent burnout. So how can they do that?

More periods of recovery

There is considerable evidence that work performance plunges when people toil for extended periods without a break.

The absence of recovery periods and seeing unused vacation days may indicate that a company could be heading for burnout. Frequent, scheduled, mandatory vacation is something managers must actively monitor and encourage.

Breaks during the workday

Balancing work activity with brief moments of detachment from tasks can promote greater energy, mental clarity, creativity and focus, ultimately growing workers’ capacity for resilience throughout the course of the workday.

Research shows that we naturally function in what are known as ultradian cycles, periods of high-frequency brain activity (about 90 minutes) followed by lower-frequency brain activity (about 20 minutes). Employees should be encouraged to take a recharging break every 90 minutes, especially when using technology, which makes the brain overly active.

Let employees choose

The freedom to choose when and where to work is a growing priority for people struggling to fulfil the balancing act of responsibilities within and outside work.

With the increased flexible work arrangements, employers will need to consider the tools, behaviours and incentives to enable employees to be productive, collaborative and creative — and invest in areas that will have the most impact to continually enhance flexible work arrangements.

Lay out clear rules that establish the times when people must be available – either physically or online – and enable people to have ‘protected time off’ to respect the need for recuperation. The focus should be flexibly but in a synchronous way.

Ecosystem of workspace

While many people are feeling the benefits of remote working and flexibility in where and when work gets done, it is not for everyone, and the office is certainly not dead. Despite employees’ desire to continue working remotely, the hard truth is it can’t be the reality forever.

As organisations plan for the return to the office, they need to be thinking not only about workplace safety measures and reconfiguring work sites to promote distance, but also how they can create a workplace to promote well-being.

The best work environments reflect the natural rhythm of collaboration and provide people the opportunity to combine coming into work with working outside the office.

Companies that don’t act now risk losing prized talent and failing to attract the very people they need to adapt and compete. This is an opportunity not to be missed, to take the initiative rather than simply reacting to change. - Based on publication by Peter Brown, Joint Global Leader, People and Organisation, PwC UK

* Loide Ekandjo is an associate with PwC P&O Consulting Services, consulting on various human resources-related services. Contact her at [email protected]